Letter: If too much cheese is made, why are we building new and expanded dairies?
A new mega-dairy is to be located near Boardman, with plans to be operational by January. Willow Creek Dairy will house 30,000 animals, making it the second-largest Oregon dairy.
Residents and visitors should have air and water quality concerns. A recent lawsuit against four dairies in the Lower Yakima Valley alleged violations of environmental protection laws, and the judge agreed. The plaintiffs argued that the dairies’ leaking lagoons and over-applied manure cause nitrates and other pollutants to enter nearby soils and drinking water. “The addition of 30,000 cows has the ability to significantly contribute to … nitrogen loading,” wrote Morrow County planning director Carla McLane.
The USDA now plans to bail out the dairy industry by purchasing $20 million of cheese, whose surplus is at a 30-year high. “Taxpayers must pay for the fact that no one wants to buy the cheese that America’s dairy industry is making,” says Tim Worstall in Forbes.
Not only are there plans for the new Boardman mega-dairy, but activists near Salem are fighting to stop the expansion of five additional dairies! This is idiotic. If there’s too much cheese being made, why are we building new and expanded dairies?
Linda Connell, Richland
This story was originally published September 21, 2016 at 5:13 AM with the headline "Letter: If too much cheese is made, why are we building new and expanded dairies?."